On Monday (10th March), the controversial Chief Minister of Mizoram, Lalduhoma, claimed that agents from the United States and the United Kingdom had been providing arms training to insurgent groups in Myanmar.
He stated that the people have been entering Myanmar through Mizoram. Lalduhoma was referring to the case of UK national Daniel Newey, arrested in June last year at the Lengpui airport.
He was found possessing one live ammunition and was booked under the Arms Act of 1959. Newey was later acquitted by a court.
Lalduhoma claimed that some of the agents who have entered Myanmar through Mizoram were involved in the ongoing Russian- Ukraine war.
Lalduhoma also claimed that 2000 foreigners visited Aizawl between June and December 2024 but were not seen on the streets. He hinted that the visitors might be conspiring to interfere in Myanmar’s internal affairs.
Mizoram CM calls for extra-territorial Kuki-Zo unity
In September 2024, Lalduhoma met members of the Chin community during an official visit to the United States. Despite being the chief Minister of a bordering Indian state, he called for the unity of the Zo (Chin-Kuki-Mizo) community spread across Myanmar and Bangladesh based on ethnic and religious lines.
The development comes amid ethnic tension between the Meitei and Kuki communities in neighbouring Manipur. Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma called upon the Zo people to unite based on religious and prevent further division.
“I would like to take this opportunity to address the elephant in the room and convey my apprehension that there is a real danger of our religion becoming a source of disunity and division, rather than being one that shepherds the flock and transforms the church into a united, strong and impenetrable fortress, which it should be,” the transcript of his speech read.
He lamented how the ‘Church of North East India’ could not become a reality despite different denominations of Christianity uniting together to form the ‘Church of South India’ and ‘Church of North India.’
While making a heartfelt plea to the Zo community to unite in the name of Jesus Christ, Lalduhoma commended the ‘Chin Relief Committee of Mizoram’ and ‘Myanmar Relief Committee of Mizoram’ for catering to the Kuki-Zo refugees.
He pointed out, “There are several revolutionary groups in the Chin Hills. There even are instances where two or three CDFs exist and operate within the same township. We belong to the same ethnic group and yet, for some reason, cannot work together. Leave aside cooperation, we have even spilled the blood of our brothers and sisters on occasion and this is a shameful, regrettable fact that we as a people have to face and take accountability for.“
The Mizoram CM talked about different organisations, formed by them and working in Manipur on cross-purposes. “I am glad to note that steps are being taken towards unity and I am sure I speak for all present today that I eagerly await the outcome of these overtures,” he added.
Lalduhoma stated that the Zo Reunification Organisation (ZORO) is working towards unity and pointed out that the purpose of his US visit was to create a path of unity for the pan-Zo community. He also highlighted about the establishment of a Chin Unity Forum in July 2018.
During his meeting with the Kuki-Zo people, the sitting Mizoram CM made remarks that threatened to undermine the sovereignty of India.
Lalduhoma said, “I want to let everyone here know that the primary reason I accepted the invitation to visit the United States is to seek a path towards unity for all of us. We are one people—brothers and sisters—and we cannot afford to be divided or apart from one another.“
“I want us to have the conviction and confidence that one day, through the strength of God, who made us a nation, we will rise together under one leadership to achieve our destiny of nationhood,” he added.
The Mizoram CM lamented that the Chin-Kuki-Mizo people were divided by boundaries and 3 different nations, hoping to transcend the territories in the near future.
“While a country may have borders, a true nation transcends such limitations. We have been unjustly divided, forced to exist under three different governments in three different countries, and this is something we can never accept,” Lalduhoma concluded.
Such remarks are unprecedented for a responsible, elected people’s representative tasked to head a key State in India’s Northeast.
